Robin P. Blackstone Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS, FASMBS

Dr. Robin Blackstone is a very well regarded bariatric surgeon. I researched surgeons thouroughly, and I was most impressed. She has trained with the best and trains others as well now. Her practice is very, very busy. They have the designation as a Center of Excellence, which involves a very intense and comprehensive pre-op and post-op program. rnDr. Blackstone is down to earth, very approachable and calls it like it is. Her surgical competence and bedside manner are exceptional. Additionally many famous people choose her to perform their WLS. I know this is not something to choose a surgeon over, but..... if they can afford the best I assume that is why they chose Dr. Blackstone.rn

'Professional and awesome surgeon. Very intelligent and great with a laparoscope. My impression has remained the same. Her and the other two docs on the team are fabulous. The entire office staff from nutritionist/schedulers/pscyh were very helpful. They provided so much health teaching. Not just telling you what to eat or not to eat...but why you need to eat certain foods. I am a previous OR Nurse and can be very judgemental....she met and exceeded every one of my expectations

Dr. Blackstone is THE surgeon to have do your gastric bypass. She is the warmest most compassionate human being on this planet. She has a staff of people who are dedicated to making your life better, nutritionally, as well as physically.

Dr. Blackstone is my hero. I had to BEG her to do my surgery. Three and a half years ago she called me on a Saturday afternoon and said she just could not do my surgery because I had this little "heart problem" with A fib. I was going to die on the table, and this was not a good thing. I absolutely lost my mind. My cardiologist called her on the following Tuesday and promised to be at the hospital during my surgery should anything go wrong. And three and a half years later, I am alive, 240 pounds lighter, and I proved her wrong!!! I did NOT die on the table. Dr. Blackstone has never lost a patient.

Do this. You can do this. It's a slam dunk. If you don't, you are going to die and need 10 paramedics to pick you up and carry you out of the house. I had nightmares about that. Recently, ONE paramedic picked me up and carried me out of a building. One.

Do it now. Do it now, for you, for no one else but you.

Dr. Blackstone was wonderful and answered all of my questions and went over all the risks related to the surgery. When I left her office, I had all the infomation I needed to make a decision about surgery. She and the other doctors at Scottsdale Bariatric are always there for you when you need them. All of the surgeons have a great bedside maner, all are very well trained surgeons and only do bariatric surgery...they are ALL truly the best!!!! The office staff is wonderful, kind and always have smiles on their faces. Scottsdale Baritric is truly a center of excellence and their program is the best. They support you in every way possible along your weight loss journey. The support groups are wonderful and really help pre and post op patients. The best thing about support group is that you always have a doctor or NP (Randy) at groups to answer medical questions, you always have a nutritionist to answer dietary questions and you always have the exercise physiologist to answer questions!!! Really this is the best support you can get!!!

Dr. Blackstone is a very smart and caring doctor. At her seminar she produce information not only about weightloss surgery,but about obesity. And theories of what causes obesity.She spoke about the dangers of having the surgery as well as not having it. Her before surgery care and after care is wonderful and carefully thought out. I have monthly checkups in her office, and must see her dietician and excerise specialist throughout the first year. Her office staff are very friendly and efficient. And give you lots of written info at each visit on what to expect for each month. My experience with Dr. Blackstone and her staff has been pleasant and supportive.

I DIDN'T MEET DR. BLACKSTONE OR DR. KARIN TILL RIGHT BEFORE SURGERY. SAW DR. KARIN AFTER SURGERY, TO GET RELEASED.
I CHOOSE THEM BECAUSE OF THE EXPERIENCE THEY HAVE WITH THE LAP BAND.
THEY HAVE A STRUCTURED PROGRAM FOR BEFORE AND AFTER SURGERY. MELISSA DOES THE FILLS, SHE IS A SWEET HEART!!!
EVERYONE IS VERY HELPFULL AND KIND!!
SCOTTSDALE SHEA HOSPITAL WAS FANTASTIC. MY CARE WAS EXCELLENT!!

I went to a seminar about 3 years ago with Dr. Blackstone. My very first impression was very positve. She seemed very intellegent, warm, capable and caring. In the past two months I have also been to two diffrent seminars one with Dr. Kieren (sp?) and the other with Dr. Kohler. I am very impressed with all three of these surgeons. All seem to be very informed on mattters of obesity and very sensitive the the causes and treatment of obesity. The program with their center seems very complete and structured with a very well constructed aftercare program which is very important to me. I feel that the risks and the benifits of surgery were address and covered very clearly. I am going through Dr. Emershad in their office for my insurance required 90 WL program. I am also very impressed with her bedside manner and attitude. All of my interactions with their staff have been very helpful and positive. Tish is very good at explaining the processing and insurance information/requirments to me.

I have been going to Dr. Blackstone's office for the past year: My six month medically supervised diet with Dr. Emershad, the psychological tests with Dr. Messer, a couple appointments Cassie Truran (their dietician) and Dr. Jennifer Kieran (bariatric surgeon), and interacted with the office staff many times. I find Scottsdale Bariatric's staff to be outstanding in courtesy and efficiency (Molly's sweet), and Dr. Blackstone inspires my utmost confidence.

I did have a couple of negative experiences with the staff. A year ago when they said I would need documentation of a six month medically supervised diet for insurance pre-authorization, they recommended I go with their program. It costs $500 and they guaranteed everything would be documented the way insurance companies require, and my insurance provider would approve my surgery or they would refund 100% of my $500.

At the end of my six month medically supervised diet, SBC told me they were wrong, and I actually needed to lose 10% to comply with insurance guidelines. A little late! My six months were done, and I had lost 18 - not the 24 I needed - plus, I had already gained the 18 back! Their business manager (who is the person that secures insurance approval) said I'd need to go back on the diet until I lost 24 lbs, paying another $50 per month until I reached the goal. She also said they only refund your money if you're denied based on something they did wrong. The 100% refund was the only reason I decided to use their doctor! Carol Cognata, their Office Mgr. came to my rescue and said we would submit it to the insurance co. the way it is. You can read the rest of the story in my profile.

Additionally, when they submitted my pre-certification packet for approval to the insurance company, they included copies of my medical history, but a summary of another patient's medical conditions. The discrepancy caused my appeal to go on for an extra three months longer than it should have. Luckily, I was persistent with the insurance company, or I would've never been approved.

Other than that, my experience with Scottsdate Bariatric has been very positive. I believe Dr. Blackstone is one of the best bariatric surgeons in the country.

My hubby and i were a little nervous when we went to meet Dr. Blackstone for the first time, She was awsome. She made both of us feel so at ease.
I was a little worried since I hand carried some of my results ina dn they got lost. All is well i took more copies in and hand delivered them to the girls and everything is great. The only thing that i was upset over was when I first asked I was led to believe that everything would not take aslong as it does. But it is ok once i was told why made perfect sence. They have a very good after surgery care.
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Dr. Blackstone is very explicited about all the risks that are involved, she leaves nothing to guess about.
I would rate her a 10 she and the program are awsome.

Dr. Blackstone is very knowledgable and professional. She comes across as understanding to WL issues and very easy to talk to. Her office stafff is very organized and they definately know what they are doing and what they need to do to get things done. Maureen is the best--I can't believe she keeps it all straight but she does! Dr. Blackstone and SBC is a complete progam...both pre/post op. Family and friends were amazed with how much goes into the WLS process with the dietican, exercise psyhologist, Therapist,support group, NP/Surgical follow-up which is all coordinated from her office. Granted I was a person with a very complicated medical history...but Dr. Blackstone wasn't phased a bit by it...but rather impressed at how much I had been thru and how well-rounded (no pun intended!) I was. She understood my need to be aware of all things medical and that I have learned over the last 33 years of previous medical issues that being informed with strong communication was vital for me. For me I wanted someone with the best surgical competence I could find and if they were approachable and had a good bedside manner--how lucky was I! Dr. Blackstone, Dr. Amy and Dr. Jennefer all have both surgical competence and good bedside manner. I wouldn't hesitate to recomment SBC to anyone considering WLS.